Kaine glanced at the highest-ranked demon in front of him.

The demon had two horns, bat wings on its back, purple skin, distinct facial features, and sharp fangs. He had never had the chance to observe the demon closely, as he was always fighting it.

‘Not bad-looking.’

Aside from the horns and wings, the demon’s facial features were more attractive than most men. In contrast, the Grand Duke…

‘His face is hidden, isn’t it?’

In the game, the Grand Duke only appeared once during the final event and then disappeared. In the guidebook, it was stated that his face was hidden because he was of a higher caliber, beyond the perception of mortals.

‘I’m sure the developers didn’t put much thought into it.’

After all, they didn’t even bother to properly set up the reason why Skaya was bullying Rain. Given this track record, it was reasonable to suspect that they simply didn’t bother to draw the Grand Duke’s face.

But that wasn’t the only issue.

‘How can the constellation see me when I’m following the Grand Duke?’

Kaine knew that the Grand Duke was a transcendent being. However, the Fate’s Goddes was also a transcendent being, separate from the Grand Duke.

Both were of the same caliber, but unlike the Grand Duke, the goddess’s face was clearly visible. Was it because she had descended in a weakened state?

This thought briefly crossed Kaine’s mind, but…

‘Anyway, it’s either that or the developers’ fault.’

Kaine justified his thoughts to himself. Meanwhile, Lava, one of the highest-ranked demons, was…

‘Why is the Grand Duke here?’

Lava was kneeling on one knee, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He was in a good mood, as it had been a while since he had been in the mortal realm.

Unlike the demon world, he could run wild in the mortal realm without having to worry about the other highest-ranked demons. Moreover, the Grand Duke was not present in the mortal realm.

However, contrary to his expectations, the Grand Duke was standing right in front of him, as if he had been waiting to be summoned.

‘But is it really the Grand Duke?’

The Grand Duke in front of him was identical to the one he had seen countless times in the demon world, from his height to his face, which was obscured by noise that mortals couldn’t perceive.

The appearance was the same, but Kaine hadn’t confirmed the Grand Duke’s power and personality.

‘I’ll confirm it once.’

With this thought, Lava spoke in a slightly tense voice.

“Grand Duke.”

“Who gave you permission to speak?”

“Th-That…”

His personality was almost identical.

“I know what you’re trying to confirm.”

“…”

“You’re probably doubting whether I’m the real Grand Duke, right?”

“Th-That…”

“Yes. You’ll know once you see it for yourself.”

Dense darkness emanated from the Grand Duke’s body. Soon after, a large amount of magic was released, as if it could swallow the world.

-Whoosh!

Lava swallowed his dry saliva and broke out in a cold sweat.

‘It’s definitely the Grand Duke.’

Mortals couldn’t sense the power of transcendent beings because their existence was of a completely different caliber.

Therefore, the Grand Duke in front of him was the real deal. He couldn’t sense anything, even with the release of such a massive amount of magic.

As Lava’s expression became more troubled, Kaine thought…

‘The Holy Water creator deserves a Nobel Prize.’

Kaine silently praised the Holy Water. In reality, he wasn’t releasing magic.

He was secretly releasing Holy Water from his inner pocket. That was all he was doing.

‘Well, I did do something.’

He had also used the effect quality, color setting, and nature change simultaneously.

But these were things he could activate just by thinking about them, so it was no different from doing nothing.

‘It’s so easy to be mistaken as a transcendent being.’

Kaine wasn’t just deceiving the demon in front of him. There was another person…

‘I did the same to Ange before.’

In order to survive against her, he had pretended to be the Fate’s Goddes. At the time, he had wondered if it would work.

‘But it worked better than I expected.’

And it was still working now.

Just in case, Kaine said, “It seems I need to show you more.”

“Yes, yes!”

Kaine released another Holy Water from his inner pocket, just like before, and transformed it into Demonic magic.

-Whoosh!

Conquering the highest-ranked demon felt like facing Ange.

No matter what he did, he couldn’t come up with a perfect strategy. It was like when Ange had come to kill him.

‘Well, it’s much easier than that.’

While conquering the almost unbeatable highest-ranked demon, Kaine remembered something.

He had once talked to Ange with a sincere heart.

This was reality, not a game. He didn’t need to fight the demon head-on. He could simply pretend to be the Grand Duke and suppress it.

Kaine looked at Lava, who was kneeling with a tense expression, his back drenched in sweat. Then, in a solemn voice, he said, “Is this enough?”

“Yes!”

Wow, he must have received some strict military training. Unlike his usual dignified demeanor, Lava answered with a nervous expression.

The Grand Duke must have been strict with his subordinates. It was rare for a highest-ranked demon to show such an attitude.

“Now, let’s get to the point. Nine humans will be coming this way soon.”

“Yes.”

“Two of them are the dirty goddesses’ saints, and the rest are mortals who have made a name for themselves in the mortal realm.”

“Saints… I see.”

He was quite responsive. Kaine couldn’t help but think, ‘Are we on the same wavelength?’

He needed to match the demon’s response, so he nodded without hesitation.

“Yes, if I step in, those mortals will be killed in an instant. However…”

Lava nodded, looking as if he didn’t want to admit it. Kaine continued without paying attention to his reaction.

“That’s why you need to step in.”

“Yes, I understand, Grand Duke. I will make the dirty saints and the rest of the mortals bleed.”

“No.”

“Huh?”

Lava tilted his head, looking confused, as Kaine had firmly denied his suggestion.

“Just subdue them.”

“Is there a reason for that?”

Kaine quickly provided a reason before Lava could doubt him.

“By absorbing their power, you and I will gain their strength. That will significantly increase our power in the demon world.”

“Ah…”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t worry. Even if you lose, I’ll be there to protect you, so you won’t die.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Was it because Kaine offered to share the power with him or because he promised to protect him?

Kaine didn’t know the exact reason, but the highest-ranked demon in front of him was touched, nodding his head as if he had been taken care of by a senior who used to torment him.

Kaine smiled, thinking, ‘Okay, it’s going according to plan.’

He raised one corner of his mouth.

Lava’s intention was to subdue, not kill.

‘He won’t use the ultrasonic attack.’

After countless regressions, Kaine had discovered one of the demon’s abilities. He didn’t know exactly what the attack was, but one thing was certain.

‘That ability can only be used to kill someone.’

Of course, Kaine could lower the volume completely, but that was impossible. Only Kaine possessed that ability.

‘Well, it’s possible with earplugs, but…’

It was unlikely that Kim Soo-yong’s group had them.

Therefore, the highest-ranked demon in front of him was essentially unable to use his primary technique.

‘That’s not all.’

Subduing someone was much more difficult than killing them. It was almost impossible for the demon in front of him to subdue Kim Soo-yong’s group with his abilities sealed.

The demon had lost to the group several times, but some of the group members had also died.

‘Well, that won’t happen now.’

Kaine had instructed the demon to subdue, not kill.

Kaine could hide and watch the fight while eating popcorn. He could deliver the final blow when it was almost over.

‘I should have thought of this earlier, damn it.’

As Kaine thought this to himself…

[The Fate’s Goddes is wondering if you’re a villain at this point.]

No, why? I’m such an honest person.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Kim Soo-yong’s group had killed the Cult members nearby and were holding a meeting.

William looked around at the group and asked, “Did you all feel it?”

Everyone knew what he was talking about.

It was magic, an incredibly powerful force.

“…”

“…”

Silence filled the group for a moment. They all knew that something unusual was happening here.

Kim Soo-yong looked around and broke the silence.

“Probably a demon was summoned, like during the last evaluation.”

“Yes, it seems that way.”

William nodded in response to Kim Soo-yong’s question.

Lisanna raised her eyebrows and asked, “A demon? Like the ones in fairy tales?”

“Yes, the demon that Ange defeated.”

William answered Lisanna’s question. She looked at him as if asking how he knew about the demon’s summoning.

Realizing that Willy and Lisanna weren’t there during last year’s evaluation, William explained the incident.

Although it was confidential, now wasn’t the time to be discreet. They might have to face the demon.

‘No, we must kill it now.’

William didn’t know why the demon had been summoned, but one thing was certain.

‘If we don’t kill it now, we don’t know what might happen later.’

If the demon rampaged in the capital…

‘Innocent people will die.’

That wasn’t all.

If the demon joined forces with the Cult, it would become a real headache.

The Cult already had a lot of information, and adding a powerful demon to the mix would make things uncontrollable.

‘It’ll become a mess.’

Therefore, they needed to kill the demon right away.

However, William couldn’t force them.

“Is there anyone who wants to leave now?”

Willy raised her hand.

“Th-That…”

“Yes, you can go back. It’s not forced.”

“It’s not that. If we can’t kill the demon here, what will happen?”

Instead of William, Rain, the saint of the goddess of happiness, answered.

“I can’t say for sure, but the demon might rampage in the capital and kill innocent people, or it might join the Cult.”

“…”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Willy, Skaya, Eileen, and Lisanna all had the same thought.

The demon would rampage in the capital.

In other words, if something went wrong with Kaine, who was currently unwell, he might die.

‘We need to kill that demon or whatever it is right now.’

With this thought, the four of them spoke with burning eyes.

“Let’s go and kill it right now.”

.

.

.

Kim Soo-yong’s group was determined.

They followed the sensed energy without hesitation. They needed to reach the demon before it left the branch.

Of course, the remaining Cult members attacked them, but…

“Get lost!”

“Get out of here!”

The Cult members were killed in one blow. About thirty minutes later…

“It’s in this room…”

They finally arrived at their destination. Kim Soo-yong looked around at the group.

‘Everyone’s fine.’

Their health and everything else seemed fine. This was the perfect time to strike.

“Then, let’s go in.”

As Kim Soo-yong broke down the door and entered, a demon and a being with a covered face appeared in their field of vision.

At the same time, Lisanna was startled and exclaimed, “There’s a fart floating around that guy’s face!”

She pointed at Kaine’s face.

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